DUI coordinator to get treatment

By The Associated Press

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TACOMA — The woman who led Pierce County efforts to curb drunken driving has agreed to treatment and probation following her arrest last month for driving with a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit.

Sheri Badger, Pierce County/Tacoma DUI Task Force coordinator for about 10 years, will undergo two years of treatment plus three years of probation in exchange for deferred prosecution.

Under a 1998 state law, deferred prosecution is a once-per-lifetime option for DUI offenders. If Badger stays out of trouble for five years, the misdemeanor will be dismissed from her record, District Judge Thomas Ellington ruled.

Badger was arrested with a 0.15 percent blood alcohol reading — the legal limit is 0.08 percent — after a State Patrol trooper saw her driving 50 mph in a 35-mph zone early Oct. 9, according to a police report and documents from the prosecutor.

Badger, 36, gave up her task-force leadership post after the arrest and has since been reassigned.

Under the deferred prosecution, her car will be equipped with a device that determines whether she's been drinking before the vehicle will start. She also must follow treatment recommendations, is not allowed to drink alcohol, and cannot refuse a blood alcohol test for five years.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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